Innovation Networks and Regional Policy in Europe

Abstract

One of the priorities for the new generation of regional development programmes in the European Union for the period 2000–2006 is the promotion of innovation. This is clearly stated in the official Commission Guidelines adopted in June 1999 as the basis for the negotiation of the new generation of regional programmes which should channel to the European regions, less favoured in particular,¹ most of the 213 billion € of the Structural Funds for this period. These Guidelines² entitled “Economic and social cohesion: growth and competitiveness for employment” are based on two broad principles: i)—identification of integrated strategies for development and conversion and ii)—the creation of a decentralised, effective and broad partnership. They state that "Structural assistance should therefore give an increasing priority to promoting RTD and innovation capacities in an integrated manner in all fields of intervention of the Funds" though actions such as: i) Promoting innovation: new forms of financing (e.g. venture capital) to encourage startups, spin-outs/spin-offs, specialised business services, technology transfer, ii) interactions between firms and higher education/research institutes, iii) encourage small firms to carry out RTD for the first-time, iv) networking and industrial co-operation, NO developing human capabilities.

The opinions expressed in this paper are the authors’ alone and not necessarily those of the European Commission.

Over two thirds of this amount is earmarked for regions whose income per capita is less than 75 % of the European average. Nearly 20 % of people in the Eu still live in regions with ouput per head 25 % or more below the EU average. By comparison, just 2 % of the people in the U.S. are im a similar position, and average disparities between States are less than half those between equivalent regions in the EU (CEC 1998b).

CEC (199); CEC (1998a: 12)